COPD or lung diseases have a major impact on patient well-being. Often recovery takes several weeks and damage of lung tissue is reducing the life-span of the patient. The diagnosis partially depends on laboratory tests for microbial infection. These tests can take few days, while immediate action is desired to avoid lung damage. In a Dutch funded research project, Innosieve Diagnostics and RadboudUMC developed a method for detection of microbes from exhaled air from infected patients. The results are obtained within few hours, including sampling. The sampling is not invasive, thus being much less traumatic and stressful than current sampling procedures. Following medical validation regulations, we anticipate this product to be accessible in few years for rapid microbial detection of lung infections. The project, called Exhalyzer, has won the first prize of the Venture Challenge Spring 2017.
